Nursing home politics

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Published 11:01 pm, Sunday, April 7, 2013

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy gives his second State of the County address on Monday March 11, 2013 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy gives his second State of the County address on Monday March 11, 2013 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Photo: Lori Van Buren

Nursing home politics

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County Executive Dan McCoy may be the former head of the Albany County Democratic Party, but when it comes to the county nursing home, Republicans have got his back. Which works out, because he needs all the help he can get with the Democrats in the County Legislature he used to lead.

A day after the legislature again stalled the vote on McCoy's plan to privatize the Colonie facility, GOP-sponsored robocalls began hitting in the districts of four Democratic legislators on Saturday — Joseph O'Brien of Loudonville, Tim Nichols of Latham, Alison McLean Lane of Menands and Bryan Clenahan of Guilderland — accusing the lawmakers of blocking tax-saving reform.

O'Brien, Nichols and Clenahan have all publicly come out against McCoy's plan — with Nichols colorfully saying it ought to go "right down the toilet where it belongs" and playing a role in Friday's maneuvering to delay the privatization vote, which now won't happen until May at the earliest.

Yet they all represent suburban communities with a fair number of Republicans in them, which may be where the GOP sees an opening and why it didn't start with opponents in safely Democratic districts in Albany.

McLean Lane — who just joined the legislature in February when she was appointed to fill the vacancy in Assemblyman Phil Steck's district — has not taken a public position on McCoy's plan. But the GOP may sense vulnerability because, unlike her colleagues, she has to run for election this year to serve the rest of Steck's term.

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County Republican Chairwoman Rachel Bledi said she was "confident" the party would dial up more calls in the future. It's widely believed that the legislature's 10-member Republican/Conservative minority currently constitutes about half of the 20 votes in the 39-member legislature that McCoy will need to pass his plan — whenever the Democrats allow it a vote.

"Taxpayers have reached their limits and can no longer shoulder the burden of poor decision-making," Bledi told Insider via email. "We need to place this nursing home in the hands of experts and out of the hands of those who placed us in this fiscal mess. If they don't, we will undoubtedly see another double-digit tax increase, which families and seniors living on fixed incomes will not be able to afford."

Nichols, however, seemed unflustered by the answering machine offensive and responded in kind via Twitter: "Privatization AND corporate welfare doesn't get any better for the GOP."

Councilwoman Barbara Smith will announce Tuesday that she is not seeking re-election to a third term in the city's 4th Ward, representing North Albany and Arbor Hill.

Throughout her tenure, Smith, 66, a Democrat elected in 2005, has been closely allied with 1st Ward Councilman Dominick Calsolaro, who announced two weeks ago that he also won't seek another term.

Both hail from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and have often voted together on some of the most controversial issues before the council, which has grown bolder in its challenges to Mayor Jerry Jennings in recent years.

But the two have also been a study in polar opposite political personalities.

Unlike Calsolaro, who is prone to animated speeches on the council floor, Smith has more often than not favored a lower-key approach, speaking on the floor much less frequently and in a low and even voice — community dialogue, not public confrontation, her preferred lever.

Smith, a Cleveland native, feminist writer and board member for New Yorkers for Alternatives the Death Penalty, spent much of her time on the council focusing on improving urban education through initiatives like Albany Promise and combating street violence, including chairing the Public Safety Committee and helping found the community-based SNUG anti-violence program.

She was recently featured in PBS documentary "Makers: Women who Make America" and is a public service professor at the University at Albany's School of Social Welfare.

"I'm just so happy that I had the opportunity to serve people in my community and the 4th Ward and do as much as I possibly could to make our city as great as it can be," Smith told Insider. "To me, eight years seemed to be a good time span. And I think it is great to have new people come in and bring their skills and their commitment to this work."

Inside Politics is compiled by Jordan Carleo-Evangelist. Reach the Insider via email at jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com, 454-5445 or on Twitter @JCEvangelist_TU